Netherlands Decorates
Jewish Community Leader

THE HAGUE, (JTA) — Queen
liana, on the occasion of her
44th birthday, presented high
decorations to a number of
Dutch Jews, including Edward
Spier, president of the Amster-
dam Jewish Community; Victor
van Vriesland, well known poet;
Saalborn, ac to r;' Rosa
Spier, harpist; Abraham Abas,
deputy director of the Bank of
Amsterdam; and Dr. Henrik van
Raalte, of the Medical Sanator-
ium at Willemstad, Curacao.

Lyons' Stories About Levant

Collector's Items
From Hollywood

A Musical Genius's Wry Humor

•

By LEON GUTTERMAN

(Copyright 1953, JTA, Inc.)

Oscar Levant: "Most bachelors
have lots of chances to get mar-
ried but they are not taking
any chances."
Mel Blanc: "It's hard tor a
rich man to enter the kingdom
of heaven, but it's easy for him
to get on the synagogue board of
trustees."
Paulette Goddard: "Tight
clothes stop circulation, but the
tighter a woman's clothes, the
more she is in circulation."
Judy Holliday: "A clever girl is
one who knows how to refuse
a kiss without being deprived of
it."

An American Jewish Press Feature

One day Oscar Levant was
suspended from the musician's
union by James C. Petrillo. Leon-
ard Lyons went all out in at-
tempting to have the pianist's
union card restored. Lyons met
Levant his first
week as a col-
umnist and ad-
mits that he has
learned much
from the musi-
Greetings on
cian - humorist.
Some of his Le-
the New Y ear
vant anecdotes,
written in his
column, "The
Mr. and Mrs. Dick
Lyons Den," -in
the New York
Robiner and Family
Post, are:
Of N & R Chernical
Levant said of
Levant
Artur Rube n-
Company
Sheets - Plates
stein: "He plays better than I do
Bars - Structurals
1042
CA-SS
AVE.
but
I don't like him as well."
Complete Shearing Facilities
Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt is one
Wish
All
Their
Friends
and
of his oldest friends. He told Leo
11675 E. 8 MILE RD.
Lindy: "I bring Alfred in here
Patrons a Happy New Year
LA. 1-1100
as a shill, so I can get better
WO. 5-6525
WO. 5-6526 service." Lorna Levant once said
something unfriendly to Van-
derbilt, and Oscar told his
daughter: "Lorna, dear, you've
just talked yourself out of a
million dollars." When Vander-
bilt reported that his own
daughter had just crawled a-
cross the room, Levant asked the
owner of Native Dancer: "With
who up?"
After Levant and his wife,
June, dined at the White
House, he said as he left:
"Well, dear, I guess now we
owe the Trumans a dinner."
During the same visit to Wash-
ington, a lady asked him to
recommend a good teacher for
her young pianist son. Levant
6510 W. McN ICHOLS
TW. 1-1700
told her: "I will quote one of
my old teachers who told me,
`There are no such things as
good teachers — only good
pupils'." He said of New York's
night' life: "This is organized
boredom."
A movie producer who wanted
Levant for a film asked him to
THE
name his rock-bottom price, and
Levant wired back: "Sorry, but
I don't live at rock bottom."
149 E. Lamed St.
Detroit 26, Mich.
Once, after a Carnegie Hall re-
cital, he was reminded that he
Tel. WO. 2-7474
had left his music behind—and
sighed: "Freud will understand."
• • •
He has been visiting psychOan-
alysts for years, and when his
hair is more ruffled than usual,
Machine Tools
Oscar explains: "It's my analyst
coiffure." Vladimir Horowitz was
curious about his sessions on the
Cutting Tools
couch and asked if going to
analysts did him good. "I don't
Industrial Supplies
know, "Oscar said, "but at least
it gives • me some place to go
• • •
every day."
The first time Lyons saw Le-
Serving Industry Since 1884
vant he was referring to him-
self as The World's Oldest
Prodigy. A young pianist asked
CHAS. T. BUSH, President
him "How do you become a
prodigy?" and Oscar told him:
•
"It's easy. Just lie about your
age." The mother of a boy
pianist asked him if there were
some short-cut to eliminate
the drudgery of practice, and
a
Oscar said: "I've been looking
for a short-cut for 20 years.
N o w I'm practicing." H i s
nephew once said he didn't
....11appy and Prooperoui
need to practice "because
music runs in the Levant fam-
ily." Oscar warned him: "And
if you don't practice, it'll run
ew Year
right out again."
Levant and Lyons once sat up
all night, waiting for the notices
of a performance he'd given.
They were all good, all but the
New York •Times, which rapped
him severely. "I thought I was
my own 'worst critic," he said,
"until I read the Times." He
felt that legal phrases are too
Jobbing Founders Grey Iron Semi-Steel
cold and impersonal. That's why
his recording contract was
and Alloyed Iron Castings
changed to read: "The Columbia
Recording Corp. is HAPPY to
agree . . ."
He once said he dislikes play-
ing concerts, because it inter-
feres with his piano practice. Le-
vant always suspects immediate
hostility when he enters a room,

GUARDIAN
STEEL
CORPORATION

Sincere Best Wishes

for a Very Happy New Year

HERCULES FORGING COMPANY

CHAS. A. STRELINGER

Ped

co

eo or

n

STUART FOUNDRY COMP

138 S. Junction

VI. 1-9250

Detroit 9, Mich.

•

Shelley Winters got a new
seven-year non-exclusive con-
tract with Universal after •she
asked the studio to tear up the
old deal so she could make pic-
tures overseas. The original
and says: "With me, one's com- contract was an exclusive one.
pany and two's a crowd." He
dedicated his book to President
and MY:S. Roosevelt because he
Best Wishes .For
liked them and, he confided:
A Happy New Year
"Also, if anyone sues me for
libel, they're in on it."

DETROIT JEWISHNEWS-67.

11 1o c 7

,

METAL MASTERS
MANUFACTURING
COMPANY

Holiday Good Wishes

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Sincere Best Wishes
for the New Year

Metropolitan

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Friendly Convenient Home of Saving Service

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To All Our Friends
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